Health care records are often maintained by a patient's primary caregiver. Perhaps the most common health care record is a medical record folder that contains documents describing the medical history of a patient. The documents often record information such as prescription drug prescriptions, immunization records, allergies, physician notes, and other information about the medical history of the patient.
When a medical event occurs, however, such medical records are often unavailable to a caregiver. For example, if a medical emergency occurs, an emergency medical technician (EMT) is often the first to arrive at the scene of the emergency. Since the EMT is typically not the primary caregiver and does not have access to the health care records, the EMT is not able to make use of the information in the health care record. In some instances, the patient is incapacitated and unable to provide the caregiver with such information. Further, if the patient is transferred to a hospital for further treatment, the health care records may still not be available, or at least not for a period of time.
Further, even if a health care record is available to a caregiver, the health care record is typically limited to information provided by the physician, and does not include the preferences or desires of the patient. A caregiver often relies upon information provided by the patient to match a health care record with the patient. Information such as name and birth date are often used, for example. However, this information is often publicly known and errors can occur in matching a health care record with a patient.